New test by phone to decide on blue badges (From Evesham Journal)
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New test by phone to decide on blue badges
7:30am Friday 5th October 2012 in News
By James Connell
New test by phone to decide on blue badges
TELEPHONE assessments have been brought in to cut fraudulent use of blue badges for disabled people in Worcestershire, which costs taxpayers millions each year.
The assessments, introduced in July, are used when it is not clear from a customer’s application form what their mobility limitations are, or if the application falls into a grey area causing uncertainty over whether or not to award a badge.
The telephone assessments are carried out by an occupational therapist or physiotherapist who can also discuss in more detail the information the customer provided in their application and if there is any information missing that may influence the customer being awarded a blue badge.
Worcestershire County Council was not able to provide figures about fraudulent use and misuse of blue badges locally.
However, nationally fraud and misuse cost the country an estimated £46 million each year.
Misuse of a blue badge could be when an able-bodied relative or carer of a disabled person uses that badge to get free parking when that disabled relative is not with them while fraud could involve people overstating their disability to get a blue badge.
The changes have attracted concern from Brian Hunt, vice-chairman of the Worcestershire Pensioner’s Action Group, who said: “While I agree with getting the abuse sorted out I’m questioning that telephone system.
“My main worry over the telephone interview is to how you can possibly make a judgement about someone’s mobility over the phone.
“Some elderly and frail people just can’t go into a question and answer session over the phone.
“My concern would be for the ones that have not been allowed a blue badge and may be eligible.”
If the therapist is still not sure if the customer is eligible, they will be asked to attend an independent mobility assessment.
Since Worcestershire County Council introduced the telephone assessments on July 17, up until September 26, it had received 1,656 discretionary applications.
Of these, 1,235 face-to-face assessments were carried out and 421 telephone assessments.
Of those 421, the number of applicants referred for an independent mobility assessment was 152.
However, many disabled people have their blue badges renewed automatically, including those registered blind and those certified as having a permanent disability which causes difficulty walking.
The criteria can be viewed at worcestershire.gov.uk/bluebadge
Comments(30)
Peter WR5
says...
8:29am Fri 5 Oct 12
Hwicce
says...
8:49am Fri 5 Oct 12
ov.uk/benefitfraud/
If you don't then you are as guilty as them.
Arthur Blenkinsop
says...
9:14am Fri 5 Oct 12
Also, i don't think the blue badge should be used as an excuse to park just anywhere and cause inconvenience to other road users!
lizzyloolah
says...
9:35am Fri 5 Oct 12
Shut up Hwicce. What a stupid comment to make.
jb
says...
9:38am Fri 5 Oct 12
One of the problems is that some people have been receiving the qualifying benefit but maybe shouldn't. This is down to the benefits agency and their scrutiny of applicants but it would help to reduce blue badges being issued to people because they tick the relevant boxes if they also had to be interviewed by the physio or occupational therapists. In order to cut down on a lot of fraud no one should be automatically granted a badge without any questions asked.
lizzyloolah
says...
9:49am Fri 5 Oct 12
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:38am Fri 5 Oct 12
lizzyloolah wrote:They would need the badge so as to be able to park near the offy.
Does everyone who is entitled to a disability allowance qualify for a blue badge, or, is it only for certain disabilities? For example, people who get disability for alcohol induced depression.
More Tea Vicar
says...
10:48am Fri 5 Oct 12
But a phone call based system seems to me to be inappropriate, for obvious, practical reasons.
I suspect only the honest will be penalised, and this is really just an exercise in box ticking, so someone at County Hall or wherever can say what a great job they are doing, whilst not making a blind bit of difference.
Andy-Apache
says...
11:34am Fri 5 Oct 12
Lets face it, as a tax payer, there is potential for me to pay less if all of the fraudulent claimants are removed.
I cant understand why any tax payer would think otherwise.
Jabbadad
says...
11:55am Fri 5 Oct 12
And jb I am sure you are aware. Where the problems have occurred was that badges were being issued to those who had temporary disablement's, and also those who did not receive the Higher rate of Mobility. I can assure the same critics, that traffic wardens have the authority to check Blue Badges and regularly request this to compare the photo and details on the Blue badge are for the person who is using that facility at that time.The Blue badge is issued to the person, NOT THE CAR and does not cover another person to run errands on behalf of a Blue Badge holder. The driver may however wait while the badge holder is in a nearby shop, Dentist or whatever they may be attending. There is a fine of up to £1,000 for mis-use.
Badge holders are also required to park sensibly and not cause obstructions.
And I have never met a blue badge holder who would't swap their badge for better health, so those who frequently park in disabled spaces to pop to the cash points, or quickly to collect some small parcel and abuse the disabled spaces possibly agree with Simon Geraghty and the Tories as to Taxis or Disabled parking spaces.
thompson9100
says...
12:32pm Fri 5 Oct 12
I'm not overly zealous about political correctness but a basic level of appreciation of such principles should be held by journalists at least, and is afforded to other minority sections of society.
I am registered blind, but don't get full mobility, but have a blue badge. And to make a point, the new pc expression for blind is "seriously sight impaired" which makes sense to me but no doubt causes more confusion in general.
lizzbella
says...
1:15pm Fri 5 Oct 12
Hwicce wrote:oh they have been reported by a number of people but as yet nothing has been done
If you believe someone is claiming benefit incorrectly then you should report it via https://secure.dwp.g
ov.uk/benefitfraud/
If you don't then you are as guilty as them.
Hwicce
says...
2:13pm Fri 5 Oct 12
lizzyloolah wrote:Strong reaction, got a guilty conscience?
"If you don't then you are as guilty as them" Shut up Hwicce. What a stupid comment to make.
green49
says...
2:54pm Fri 5 Oct 12
The system as it is now is a total insult to the genuine claimant for a Blue badge, my cousin has an artifical leg and a painful hip problem and has had a badge for 25 years, he reapplied and was asked to attend at lower wick, after filling in a form and then being seen by a physio, he was refused because he could manage to walk 20 yards on a carpeted corridor, HOW many paths are carpeted in Worcester, the paths and cobbles are so uneven they are hard to walk on when you have no disabilty, there have been so many appeals against this stupid system purely designed to tick boxes that they will now do over the phone as its costing even more taxpayers money because of the way people are being assesed, it does not take into account any previous medical support, its wrong, immoral and its the genuine who are suffering again for the minority who abuse the system.
I know of many people who have been refused for no good reason that they will not go into the city anymore they will shop outside where they can park close for free so the city will now get less custom and i do not blame them.
mayall8808
says...
3:04pm Fri 5 Oct 12
mayall8808
says...
3:08pm Fri 5 Oct 12
I was smashed up on the Motorway by an articulated lorry and all the driver got was a £400 fine after he had fell asleep and i was just lucky to be alive.
murray kelso
says...
4:34pm Fri 5 Oct 12
The term was used once in the article, whereas 'disabled people' was used on all other occasions. 'The disabled' is a term we try to avoid for the reason stated but this managed to slip through the net.
Apologies for any offence caused.
MK - Digital Editor
mayall8808
says...
8:28am Sat 6 Oct 12
HOW much did it cost the Council before the new rules came in? how many did they catch using a badge who should not have one?
How much money did it generate? and how much is it costing now, the answer to the last one, thousands as the company doing the work are incompetant, you can tell by the amount of appeals? i do hope they are paying for them as they cost a couple of thousand a time to set up, probably more.
Jabbadad
says...
9:32am Sat 6 Oct 12
To complain on PC grounds for using / saying Disabled is a jobsworth comment, and has no bearing on the problems facing those who have genuinely held a Blue badge but are now failing from a Jobsworth action of subjecting we elderly and often Frail people to telephone assessments. Discussions I have held with those responsible for these methods will privately agree that their late Mums/ Aunties / Neighbours, would also fail telephone assessments as would have my late Mum, but not fail from eligibility but from confusion or incorrect answers. And I also feel that this is in contradiction to the Disability and Equality Act October 2010.
So is this yet another round of complicated forms (which I have copies of) in my opinion designed to reduce the statistics by confusing we elderly. Because without a reduction in numbers of badges issued the scheme will be seen as a failure, and so again the frail and less able are being sacrificed for spreadsheet results for government local and National.
And having said all this the taxis are still acting outside of their license guidelines, and Paul Denham as License committee chairman appeals in this paper for the public to do his job, by photographing and taking Taxi numbers of those who are acting unlawfully, and the Traffic Wardens and Police continually walk past ignoring the problem, and Sadly Simon Geraghty responsible for throwing the Disabled off St Swithun street disabled parking in favor of the Taxis will probably be forgiven by both the Riverside and St Clements voters and re-elected. STRANGE OLD WORLD democracy and BEING OLD. in a TORY Reign.
Omicron
says...
6:12pm Sat 6 Oct 12
She filled in the appropriate forms (they are NOT confusing) as all one has to do is answer the questions carefully and truthfully. About two weeks after they were submitted she received a phone call which resulted in a telephone assesment (about 10 minutes) based upon her response to the questions on the form. From this she was asked to attend a face-to-face assesment which lasted about 45 minutes. A week after this she was told her application was succesful and the badge would be issued once WCC had received the £10 fee.
It is my opinion that the whole process is necessary and fair and all the comments so far that condemn the process are, to be quite frank, based on ignorance of what the process sets out to achieve. And that is to get rid of those that do not need, or no longer need, a blue badge. If you genuinely need one then there is nothing to worry about.
What would be interesting to know is of all the applications for blue badges so far received under the new criteria how many have been declined.
At the end of the day what it will achieve is that all those that have a blue badge will have had it issued under genuine need and not an individual's perceived need.
Jabbadad
says...
1:09am Sun 7 Oct 12
In fact his posting is very supportive of this questionable process, and I say questionable from talking with health professionals about how they view this system, when so many frail elderly who are entitled will fail at the first hurdle. So while I am pleased that his wife was successful in her re-application, perhaps the ignorance comes from assuming that everyone is as capable as his wife, since the forms I have cannot be seen as easy, quite the opposite. And before this new system the staff at the Hubs were professional and capable of making informed considerations.
The abuses that the Department for Transport are addressing are the fraudulent copies and Blue Badges stolen and sold on the Black market in and around London, which change hands for many hundreds of pounds, since Blue Badge holders are exempt form the congestion charges. We obviously don't have this problem here in Worcestershire, and suggests that one size does not fit all.
Finally since Omicron and his wife finds this system so easy perhaps they would make themselves available to the many who fail not from a health issue but from a failure from form filling?
green49
says...
9:26am Sun 7 Oct 12
Loads and the appeals are in place so they have to go before a panel that is going to cost the taxpayer not the company???almost £5000 a time due to the incompetance of the company just ticking boxes,i personally know of 16 people who have long term disabilties over 25 years or more and genuine and also have medical proof but this system is a joke and insulting to them and everyone else.
It has got to be easier to look at who has had a badge before who supplied the right evidence and show some identity that they are still alive and in need, thats got to be a cheaper way.
pronstar
says...
9:44pm Sun 7 Oct 12
TheIndependentPolitiOf course, what other colour would 'blue badges' be?
cian wrote:
Do the badges have to be blue?
Jabbadad
says...
12:06am Mon 8 Oct 12
green49
says...
9:30am Mon 8 Oct 12
cian says.
YOU got nothing else better to do than insult people who will have a enough problems dealing with day to day living and genuinely need the assistance that the Badge system gives?
you should try being unable to walk a short distance without pain etc, You are tarring everyone with the same brush and if you are as posted supposed to be a politician then your a perfect example of whats wrong with this country.
Omicron
says...
12:20pm Mon 8 Oct 12
In view of this what I have difficulty in understanding is if my wife was subjected to this in 2003 then surely there are many people, who are now having to re-apply under the new system, who must have had to have undergone an assessment several years ago, so being subjected to an assessment now is nothing new.
You must remember that the blue badge system was originally brought in as a replacement for the old orange badge system and as an attempt to standardise with European regulations for disable badge holders.
I think the problem is that people who currently have a blue badge consider it as a right and as such believe that there cannot possibly be any reason why that badge should be taken from them. Why do you think that a badge only lasts for three years? Some people with disability improve - some get worse. The key is medication. As my wife was told at the assessment "you are on serious medication and as such it is unlikely that your situation will ever improve, only get worse". It would appear that if you are on little or no medication for your disability then it seems likely that you will lose your blue badge.
I must admit that when my wife did get her application approved we were both somewhat surprised as we did not honestly believe that her ailments warranted a blue badge under the strict criteria of the new scheme. We were wrong but at the same time we were prepared for the fact that she could possibly have lost the privilege of having a blue badge.
And by the way Jabbadad, my wife did not have an "easy journey" as you put it. A telephone assessment and face-to-face assessment is NOT an easy journey.
mayall8808
says...
1:05pm Mon 8 Oct 12
Disability varies from person to person and as i have posted before just because you don't wear a bandage on your head does not mean you do not have health problems.
Jabbadad
says...
2:55pm Mon 8 Oct 12
And I am personally aware of the temporary Blue Badge scheme whereby the person might be seen able to get better, even though my brother who had terminal cancer was only allowed a temporary badge.
As to my saying about your wife having an easy journey I was simply replying to your comments on other peoples ignorance, and the ease of the telephone interview for her.
We really should be working together for there are many who cannot rely on a partner or family member for support when becoming involved in the red tape form filling, and the group that I belong to are frequently directing confused people to Age UK who are wonderful in assisting people through what has become a fog of bureaucratic obstacles, or helping these vulnerable people ourselves. And one thing I am aware of are the complicated and lengthy forms (some over 100 pages) that have been required for some services.
Omicron
says...
12:24pm Tue 9 Oct 12
As one gets older you tend to develop ailments which are related to ageing and one becomes aware that "you can't do the things you used to". This natural process of slowing down as one gets older should not give automatic entitlement to a blue badge otherwise anyone reaching the age of 60 would get one.
If a person believes they are entitled (or still entitled) to a blue badge then they have to go through the assessment process. How else can the system work? They cannot give them out like confetti can they? An assessment process is necessary to help ensure that only those in genuine need get them.
As for an appeal, having to go in front of a panel to put forward your case as to why you need a blue badge is quite a daunting process. If the appeals procedure is anything like the appeals procedure that parents go through because their child cannot get into the school of choice then the chance of winning will be virtually zilch.
lizzbella says...
7:44am Fri 5 Oct 12